As is known in the art, police, soldiers and other front line personnel can be required to carry significant amounts of gear. Various equipment, such as sensors, night vision, communication systems, flashlights, can be powered by batteries, which also must be carried by the user. In addition, since the equipment uses different battery sizes, spare batteries for each of the different equipment types must be carried. The weight associated with this equipment and batteries is significant. For example, conventional full body armor can weigh upwards of 40 pounds and a fully equipped soldier can carry almost 100 pounds of equipment including batteries.
In addition, vehicles may need battery power for various electrical loads. If the engine is not running, battery power can be used to energize at least some of the electrical loads. However, battery power can be rapidly depleted by the loads which require the engine to run generating noise and exhaust.